I did these many, many years ago....'41 Plymouth and a '40 Chevy. Just bolted all of the panels together and made simple hinges with thin cable for opening stops.
I've done a number of them, and done them bolted and welded together. Need to be sure to space the factory gaps between fenders and hood, as if you don't the whole front clip will be narrower than the body it butts to. I've also found that if you want it to be a one person operation to open it, you need to split the fender drops so the fenders don't drag across the doors, or body. The pivot point for the frontend will affect how easily it opens also, and keeping it lower will make it easier to open. Be sure the hinge points are heavy, as that's a lot of weight to pivot on two points. Also be sure to reinforce the front clip with a tubular framework so it doesn't flex constantly as you drive, or as you open it. And add extra reinforcement around the connection point to the front clip! It's easy for the pivot point to stress the sheet metal and crack out if not plated, and reinforced. This is the framework I built from 3/4" EMT tubing for my Falcon. A much sturdier restraint cable is great! I use tailgate cables from pickup trucks I get at the wrecking yard for a few bucks.
The one thing I would do is to see if the assembled front can tilt without haveing to cut the fenders so they don't rub the body when opening. If they are going to rub, I would incorporate some type of slide similar to the slides on toolbox drawers but stronger...............that would let the front move forward before opening, then back once its open.
If you look at the picture I posted, you'll notice the toggle link system I designed to let the front clip move forward 6" before I tilt it open. Simply pull on the front clip and the link flops over. Then tilts forward. Works without needing a 2nd person to assist. And this is my Austin in my avatar. Both cars have the fender drops cut off and attached to the body to make it easy to open. But that also ensures they wont hit your head when you're working on the engine too! Imagine those fender drops attached to the fenders, and where they'll sit when the clip is open? Right in the way when you're back and forth working on the engine!
I saw a 39 Buick with a tilt nose which was pulled forward away from the firewall before tilting, avoiding cutting the fenders. The hinges were mounted on tubing, sliding inside another tube mounted to the frame.
Back in the, '70's? GM cars came with collapsible steering shafts, they are held solid with imbedded hard plastic. Once you break that plastic the inner and outer shafts will telescope longer or shorter. Cut the ends off, cut to length and you have a way of pulling tilt front end away from firewall and fenders, works great!
The best thing you can use for hinges are spherical rod ends (Heim joints). Mine are bolted to a plate with slotted holes so they can be adjusted fore and aft and the threaded shank can be adjusted for up and down. The pivot point is a ball so there is never any bind. I used 1/2" ones, and they are plenty strong. Gary
You could way over engineer it. It works with one person and we didn't have to cut the fenders though.
If you knew how long it took us you couldn't afford it in kit form. LOL I imagine it would have to be done differently for each car also.
If you knew how long it took us you couldn't afford it in kit form. LOL I was being facetious? smileyface!
I did this on my 48 GM Holden in the 70s, it's still around today. Bolted everything together as others have done and hinged front end on both bar brackets with fenders split on line. Lock pins on each side allowed front to be tilted by one person when disengaged. A stout bushing on the pivot point is necessary. In hindsight I could have slid it forward like the 55 however I wanted to drive it as soon as possible. There was a similar 48 Holden built around this time, the front slid and tilted and was held down by Triump Herald latches rather than my pins.
Nice job. Back when I was a lad, and before I wisely chose hot-rodding, I had a Triumph Spitfire where the whole front end tilted. It secured with those Tirumph latches on the sides like you've pictured. Very easy to work on everything. It was very light, my classmates just carried it off from the parking lot one day. Although seriously OT, I'd like to have it, and my 1968 waistline, back again.
Thats a very nice set up. You could help others by posting some dimensions and pictures of the mechanism in a few stages of the movement. Appears to be two separate considerations. One for tilting one for pivoting forward. Thanks for sharing it.........
I don't have dimensions but there is a long build thread. I don't even remember what all is in it. LOL https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1956-pontiac-gasser-389-swap.949269/#post-10683336
Hoods on 1980s BMWs had hinges that were sprung so that the spring on the hinge lifted the front of the hood and moved it forward enough that the rear of the hood released from a pair of hooks at the rear. It works really well, and something like that could be copied for a tilt front end. I saw a home built hinge on a 56 Ford, which did not move the front end forward, and it didn't allow the new assembly to move forward enough, or open enough, to provide proper access to the engine. Bob
I recall someone posting (somewhere) pics they did, looked like larger drawer slides, pulled forward then flipped up. I thought it was neat, but don't recall the details.
Thats how the fiberglass tilt front works on my truck that is my avatar. I built it that way about 30 years ago. Although it works good, I plan to change it some this winter. I have started work on the truck recently to update and fix some things that have been neglected to long.
Here is a link to a post from 2014 that another Hamber did on his car with a slide and tilt mechanism. Technical - Slide and Tilt Front End (the way I did it)Hope it helps someone | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com) Hemimike is still listed as a member, with last post in 2015.....
Mine slides forward, just 1" square tubing sliding inside 1-1/4" tubing. Simple but effective. And it will slide all the way out for easy removal. Also my hood is separate, hinged at the back. Nice because I can do carb work etc. without tilting the rest. Old photo, all I got at the moment.
Great thread and links . I want to do a flip on my ‘48 F1 , so I can get to things easier. Not wanting to work head first with feet sticking in the air like a pair of exhaust stacks .
This is the same setup I built for my '63 Falcon gasser, except my toggle links aren't as long, so it only moved forward about 6"-7". It made flipping the links over easier, and I didn't need more clearance.
I wanted to search for an old thread that I started so I could reference it here. I searched for "tilt" in "titles only" and several threads came up. Some were for tilt front ends, some were for tilt columns, and some others. You can sift through and read many threads regarding tilt front sheet metal. Here are the search results for you to peruse.
The Jalopy Journal
